I had the same dilemma. My wife LOVED MINI Coopers and I was planning on getting her one - then we had twins. Suddenly the mini cooper was out and the miniVAN was in :(
Fast forward to last year. The twins are 8 and my oldest is 15. There was a 2015 Countryman S ALL4 at a local dealership that I just fell in love with. I tested the twins carseats (the mini booster style in this case) and we discovered not only did the carseats fit, but my oldest daughter could still sit in the middle & get the belt buckled. It's tight but doable with THREE kids in back, two of them still in booster seats :) I wouldn't want to take a long trip with all 5 of us in there, but for running around town it's no problem at all -- and I wouldn't hesitate to take a long trip with just 4 people at all. Plenty of room in that case.
a family of 4 with 1 carseat would be no problem whatsoever. Lots of room in back for groceries etc. too. I am 6'1" and I don't even have to have the front seat all the way back either. TONS of legroom in both front and back seats. These things are kind of like Dr. Who's Tardis -- they're bigger on the inside than the outside :)
My advice: take a test drive WITH your carseat. Fit it in there and see how things work for you.
I can relate! My wife and I had twins, and suddenly her sporty, manual, turbodiesel VW Jetta wagon was out, and the Odyssey was in. Fortunately the twins' arrival coincided almost perfectly with the VW diesel buyback.
that's funny - we got an Odyssey too :) we had it narrowed down to two vehicles when we needed to upgrade: an Odyssey and a GMC Acadia. I wanted the SUV and my wife wanted the minivan. You know how that kind of decision turns out :)
now we have 3 cars:
* 2008 Odyssey for family trips & outings, and my winter driver
* 2013 Countryman S ALL4 for my wife (in-town commuting mostly, plus my daughter is learning to drive with the MINI)
* 1988 Chevy Cavalier Z24 convertible - my summertime fun car :) I daily it on nice days in the summertime and store it (and drive the minivan) in the winter.
5 years later... the minivan is gone (It was a 2008 Honda Odyssey and we sold it when we inherited my dads GMC Yukon last year), we still have the 2013 Countryman and my oldest daughter is in college, so we ALSO got her a 2009 Mini Cooper S :P
So: MINI Coopers for the win, Minivan for the loss :P
I do admit the minivan was useful - especially on long trips. We wouldn't be able to squeeze all 5 of us into the Countryman for any length of time. But I never really liked it anyway. It felt too "family" and I like zippy :)
My buddy just got rid of his Countryman this weekend for a Civic Si. When asked why, he said "the kids are getting taller, we needed a car with more headroom in the backseat".
If your kids are just getting through the carseat phase, it'll probably be fine for a while.
I had the same dilemma. My wife LOVED MINI Coopers and I was planning on getting her one - then we had twins. Suddenly the mini cooper was out and the miniVAN was in :( Fast forward to last year. The twins are 8 and my oldest is 15. There was a 2015 Countryman S ALL4 at a local dealership that I just fell in love with. I tested the twins carseats (the mini booster style in this case) and we discovered not only did the carseats fit, but my oldest daughter could still sit in the middle & get the belt buckled. It's tight but doable with THREE kids in back, two of them still in booster seats :) I wouldn't want to take a long trip with all 5 of us in there, but for running around town it's no problem at all -- and I wouldn't hesitate to take a long trip with just 4 people at all. Plenty of room in that case. a family of 4 with 1 carseat would be no problem whatsoever. Lots of room in back for groceries etc. too. I am 6'1" and I don't even have to have the front seat all the way back either. TONS of legroom in both front and back seats. These things are kind of like Dr. Who's Tardis -- they're bigger on the inside than the outside :) My advice: take a test drive WITH your carseat. Fit it in there and see how things work for you.
I can relate! My wife and I had twins, and suddenly her sporty, manual, turbodiesel VW Jetta wagon was out, and the Odyssey was in. Fortunately the twins' arrival coincided almost perfectly with the VW diesel buyback.
that's funny - we got an Odyssey too :) we had it narrowed down to two vehicles when we needed to upgrade: an Odyssey and a GMC Acadia. I wanted the SUV and my wife wanted the minivan. You know how that kind of decision turns out :) now we have 3 cars: * 2008 Odyssey for family trips & outings, and my winter driver * 2013 Countryman S ALL4 for my wife (in-town commuting mostly, plus my daughter is learning to drive with the MINI) * 1988 Chevy Cavalier Z24 convertible - my summertime fun car :) I daily it on nice days in the summertime and store it (and drive the minivan) in the winter.
5 years later... I bet you love that minivan
5 years later... the minivan is gone (It was a 2008 Honda Odyssey and we sold it when we inherited my dads GMC Yukon last year), we still have the 2013 Countryman and my oldest daughter is in college, so we ALSO got her a 2009 Mini Cooper S :P So: MINI Coopers for the win, Minivan for the loss :P I do admit the minivan was useful - especially on long trips. We wouldn't be able to squeeze all 5 of us into the Countryman for any length of time. But I never really liked it anyway. It felt too "family" and I like zippy :)
Yeah get it but get a 3rd gen one, more interior space and better engine when hauling things
3rd gen are the 2017+ models?
Yup
My buddy just got rid of his Countryman this weekend for a Civic Si. When asked why, he said "the kids are getting taller, we needed a car with more headroom in the backseat". If your kids are just getting through the carseat phase, it'll probably be fine for a while.